The whistleblower who helped take down
Peter Scannell, a former employee at Putnam's call center in Quincy, initially grabbed headlines when he told William Galvin, Massachusetts secretary of the commonwealth, that Putnam turned a blind eye as more than a dozen union members with retirement accounts at Putnam market timed its funds.
His testimony was a vital step in successfully bringing the first civil fraud charges against a mutual fund for market timing, a lawsuit that ultimately cost the company billions of dollars in lost assets and $100 million in fines. The move also sent shockwaves through the $7.5 trillion industry and emboldened
Scannell's information did not come without a price, however. A member of the boilermaker's union, one of the groups timing Putnam funds, allegedly assaulted Scannell with a brick as he attempted to get into his car. To date, the assailant has yet to be apprehended.
Scannell claims that he has been blackballed by the industry for his brave decision to turn evidence over to Galvin's office, risking both his career and his life. Scannell, 48, has held a slew of different jobs in different places around the country, including waiting tables and working at a casino. At Putnam, he worked in the back office putting through trades and received a series 7 license. In his new digs, Scannell will work in the corporations division of Galvin's office, earning $45,000 a year. Scannell could not be reached for comment.
